


One Stupid Kiss

by ColonelScience



Series: Baby Steps [1]
Category: XOXO Droplets (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23080393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColonelScience/pseuds/ColonelScience
Summary: Jeremy is back in Greenvale for the summer after his first year of college, and his girlfriend is coming to visit after a year spent apart. Will he finally work up the courage to kiss her, or will he spend another year hating himself for being a coward? Both? Probably both.Rated T for language and innuendo.
Relationships: Jeremy King/Main Character | JB (XOXO Droplets)
Series: Baby Steps [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721464
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	One Stupid Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> This work is set one year after the end of XOXO Droplets. Both JB (named Jenn Batista in this fic) and Jeremy are 19. If you haven't already, please do yourself a favor and play XOXO Droplets, you will not regret it. The adorable illustrations for this fic were provided by my wonderful friend Bunniee, who you can find on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/bunitrine

Jeremy jumped slightly when his phone buzzed with a low battery alert. How long had he been staring at the text conversation with his girlfriend? He rolled over and set his phone down on his bedside table, only to sigh and pick it back up again moments later. Why was it that he fell asleep constantly during the day, but when he was actually trying to sleep his stupid brain wouldn't let him? It always had to find something to obsess over. More and more often lately, that something was Jenn.

The two of them had become "official" at the beginning of their senior year of high school. When they graduated and had to go long distance, things were rough for a while. It wasn't easy for Jenn to adjust to not seeing Jeremy in person anymore, and while he'd never admit it, Jeremy missed the hell out of her too. They both got used to it as time went on, but it was still hard sometimes. Now, with his first year of college over with, he was -- much to his chagrin -- back home with his parents for the summer. The only good thing about all this was that he was finally close enough to Jenn for her to come visit. And now that said visit was on the horizon, his stupid brain was making him worry about that too.

Despite being a couple for almost two years now, he and Jenn had never so much as kissed. Back in high school he was far too awkward to even consider something like that, and once he went off to college there hadn't been any opportunity. Now, though, with his girlfriend arriving tomorrow, as disgusted with himself as he was for thinking it, he didn't hate the idea. The concept itself was still revolting of course. There were few things Jeremy wanted less in the world than another person's saliva in his mouth. But with Jenn, he could almost ignore that. He wanted what the kiss represented. He wanted to know that she wanted him, and he wanted her to know that he wanted her back. He wanted to be close to her, in a way he'd never wanted to be close to anyone before. He wanted-

He dropped his phone and pulled his pillow over his face, groaning into it. God, he was fucking pathetic. This was so stupid. Everything was so stupid. Setting aside the question of why he even wanted something so disgusting and pointless, why couldn't he just do it? Normal couples kissed all the time. This shouldn't be so damn hard. Damn it. He lifted the pillow off of his head and moved his phone back to his bedside table, plugging it in and laying back down. He squeezed his eyes shut tight. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well at least fake it.

***

Jeremy woke up to the glare of sunlight through his bedroom window. He didn't remember falling asleep, but he supposed it must have happened at some point. He groaned and rolled over to face his bedside table and pick up his phone. Jenn had texted him already. It was unlike her to wake up before him, but he supposed she was eager to start on her way to visit. He opened up the message. 

_Hey, cutie! I'm on my way. Try not to throw yourself at me too hard when you see me._

Jeremy rolled his eyes before typing his reply, even though he knew no one was around to see it.

_You and I both know that was never going to happen._

He went to put his phone down, but was surprised when it buzzed in his hand. She had texted back already.

_Whatever you say, Jerebear ;3c_

_Oh god you've been texting that Lucas prick again, haven't you?_

_Oh relax, you know you're the only man for me~_

_No, I don't care about that. Whenever you text him you pick up on that stupid furry emoji he uses._

_It's not a furry emoji, it's just a cute face. Are you sure you aren't just projecting?_

_What._

_Maybe you just want to think about Lucas with cute little kitty ears and a tail._

_Oh my god._

_Maybe wearing a collar…_

_We are not having this conversation._

_Only a collar~_

_You're terrible. Shouldn't you be driving?_

_Patience, Jearbear. I just stopped for gas. I guess you really can't wait to see me again~_

_If I agree with you can we never talk about this again?_

_Maybe. Will I finally get that kiss I've been waiting so long for?_

Jeremy froze. This was his chance. Jenn would never know he was ready unless he told her, and as much as she poked and prodded, he knew she would never kiss him unless she knew he wanted it. It didn't even have to be a "yes". He could reply with something coy like "we'll see" or even his trademark "whatever". She'd pick up on him not saying no and know he was ready. Of course, that's not how he replied.

_Not happening._

Fuck. Why was he like this?

_Hey, can't blame a girl for trying. Talk to you later, hot stuff!_

_Ew._

Jeremy cursed himself. He was fucking pathetic.

***

Jeremy sat on the stairs by the front door, checking his phone for the time. She was supposed to arrive at eight. It was now eight forty five. He sighed. Typical.

"Is Jenn still not here?" his mother asked, walking in from the next room.

"If she was here, I wouldn't still be sitting here," Jeremy said, not looking up from his phone.

"Come on, there's no need for that kind of attitude, Jeremy," she said. "I'm sure she'll be here soon."

"Whatever," Jeremy said. He put his phone back in his pocket and began to stare into space.

A knock on the door broke the silence and brought him back to reality. Before he could stand up, his mother was already at the door.

"Jenn, it's so nice to see you again!" his mother said as she opened the door.

"Great to see you too, Jennifer!" Jenn said, giving his mother a hug. Jeremy hated that his girlfriend and his mom had the same first name. At least Jenn never went by her full first name. He might have to dump her if she did that. Not that she'd let him. "And if I'm not mistaken," she said, turning to face Jeremy, "I see that the cutest guy in the world has been waiting for me."

"You'd better go find him then," Jeremy said, not breaking his constant frown. "I'll wait."

"Still don't know how to take a compliment, I see," Jenn said. She walked over and sat down beside him. "Can I at least get a hug? I haven't seen you in a whole year."

"No," Jeremy said.

"Please?" Jenn put on her best puppy dog eyes and pouted.

"No," Jeremy said again. "Especially not after sitting in a car for ten hours in the middle of summer. Go take a shower."

"Fine," Jenn said, drawing out the word in feigned annoyance. She glanced around to make sure Jeremy's mother was out of earshot. "Feel free to join me if you'd like," she said with a wink.

Jeremy blushed bright red. "Oh my god."

"I'm not hearing a no," she said.

"No," Jeremy said. "And hurry up. I think I need a shower now, too."

"Ooh, I didn't know I'd get you that excited just with a suggestion," Jenn said.

"No, that's not what I-..." Jeremy buried his face in his hands. "Please just go."

Jenn laughed. "Alright. See you in a sec, Jerebear."

Jeremy continued to hold his hands over his face as Jenn walked past him up towards the bathroom. Why did she have to be so evil?

He sighed and clasped his hands together on his lap. There's no way he'd ever be able to kiss her, not when her teasing got him this flustered. He was pulled out of his thoughts when his father walked into the room.

"Where's Jenn?" he asked. "I heard she got here."

"She went to take a shower," Jeremy said.

"Oh, that's a shame, I was hoping to say hello to her first. I suppose I'll just have to wait until she comes back down." He paused for a moment before kneeling down in front of Jeremy. "So, now that your girlfriend is visiting, I think we should have a talk."

"Oh my god," Jeremy said.

"I know at your age, when you have someone special to you, you'll have certain… urges," his father said.

Jeremy stood up and turned around, walking upstairs towards his room. "We are not talking about this."

"Alright," his dad called up after him. "We'll talk later."

Jeremy went into his room and closed the door behind him.

***

Jeremy jolted awake at the sound of a knock on his door. He must have dozed off after walking away from that god-awful conversation with his dad.

"Hey, Jere, it's me," Jenn said from outside his room. "Can I come in?"

Jeremy sighed loudly enough to ensure she could hear it through the door. "Whatever," he said as he sat up on his bed.

Jenn took that as permission to enter. She closed the door behind her after entering and sat next to Jeremy on the bed. "You know, all teasing aside, it really is good to see you again," she said.

Jeremy blushed slightly. "Yeah, it's good to see you again too, I guess," he mumbled.

"What's this?" Jenn said with mock disbelief. "Jeremy actually admitting that he's happy to see me? Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?"

"I thought you said you were done teasing," Jeremy said.

"I lied," Jenn said.

Jeremy sighed again.

"So," Jenn said, "if you're not gonna hug me, we're at least gonna hold hands."

Jeremy groaned. "I don't want to."

"Is this an "I actually don't want to" I don't want to, or an "I refuse to give up my mopey and disinterested act for even a second even if it means turning down my incredibly lovable girlfriend who I haven't seen in a year" I don't want to?" Jenn asked, smirking as she already knew the answer.

Jeremy just scowled at her as she took his hand in hers.

"So, what would you say to a date tomorrow?" Jenn asked.

"I don't think it matters what I'd say since you're just going to drag me there anyway," Jeremy said.

"Now you're catching on," Jenn said. "We're going to the botanical gardens."

"Why?" Jeremy asked. "It's just a bunch of plants, it won't be any different than it was when we went in high school."

"Because," Jenn said, "it's the only place in town where I can be reasonably sure we won't run into anyone else, and I want you all to myself."

"Ew," Jeremy said.

"Yeah, yeah," Jenn said, rolling her eyes, "keep pretending you don't like the idea of getting some alone time with me."

Jeremy sighed. "You're terrible."

Jenn laughed as she stood up, walking back towards the door. "Love you too, Jerebear." She blew him a kiss as she stepped out into the hallway.

***

The next day was fairly uneventful leading up to the date. Jeremy woke up about an hour and a half before Jenn did and had already eaten breakfast, showered, and gotten dressed by the time Jenn left the guest bedroom. As she got ready, he was left to think about the coming date. Why did she want him alone? Was it just more of her endless teasing, or had she picked up on his willingness to take things further? Ugh, this was too hard.

He kept obsessing all the way to the botanical garden, holding Jenn's hand for the entire walk despite his halfhearted protests. What if she did try something? Would he even be able to go through with it or would he panic and back out at the last second?

"Jeremy," Jenn said, tugging on his hand.

"What?" he asked in his standard monotone.

"We're here."

Oh. He looked up and realized the two of them were standing at the gates to the botanical gardens. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed. "Yeah, I see that," he said. "Are we going inside or are we just gonna stand here?"

"That eager to get our date started, huh?" Jenn said.

"No, I was legitimately asking," Jeremy said. "I don't care either way, both options sound equally awful."

"Well, we're going in," Jenn said as she led him to the booth where they'd pay for entry. She fished a ten dollar bill out of her pocket and handed it to the employee in the booth.

"Do we have to keep holding hands?" Jeremy asked as they entered the gardens.

"Yep," Jenn said. "Hey, do you remember what we used to do when we came here back in high school?"

"You'd probe me with endless questions about myself and I'd make up lies to tell you until you caught on," Jeremy said.

"Yeah, that," Jenn said. "Why don't we try that again, only this time you actually tell me the truth?"

"That sounds pointless," Jeremy said. "We've been together for two years, you know everything important about me already."

"Which means I'll know if you're lying," Jenn said. "So I can ask you the really tough ones. Besides, is there any conversation we could have that you wouldn't think was pointless?"

Jeremy sighed. "Probably not."

"There you have it, then," Jenn said. "First question: why are you so nervous today?"

Shit. Jeremy stiffened up as she asked her question. "I'm not nervous," he said.

"Weeooweeoo," Jenn said, imitating the noise of a siren. "Bullshit alert."

"Fine," Jeremy said. "It's because you've been holding my hand this entire time and you know I hate that."

"Try again," Jenn said.

"I've developed a phobia of plants," Jeremy said.

"Jeremy, in your three years of knowing me, what could have possibly given you the impression that I'm not stubborn enough to keep this going until you give me a real answer?"

Jeremy let out a sigh that was almost unbelievably mopey, even for him. "Fine," he said. "You want to know so bad? I haven't seen you in a year and actually being in the same space as you again is weird because as annoying as you are, you're one of the only people in the world who actually likes me for some incomprehensible reason, and I don't want to ruin that."

Jenn thought for a moment before replying. "Not a lie, but not the whole truth either. Still, it took guts to admit that, so I'll drop it for now."

"I'm humbled by your kindness," Jeremy said, the sarcasm palpable in his voice.

"Yeah, I know, I'm a saint," Jenn said. "Next question. How is school going?"

"Didn't you say you'd be asking tough questions?" Jeremy asked. "That's the kind of small talk question people only ask when they've got nothing important to talk about."

"If you'd rather, I could ask about something dirty," Jenn said.

Jeremy sighed again. "School's fine, I guess. By which I mean it's about as miserable as high school was. So actually, I guess I'm changing my answer to terrible."

The conversation carried on like this as the two of them walked around the gardens. Jenn would ask questions she already knew the answer to, and Jeremy would reply with something appropriately dreary. All the time, though, his mind was focused on the same thing it had been since before Jenn arrived. Finally, they had looped back around to the entrance. Before they could leave, though, Jeremy stopped.

"What's up?" Jenn asked, turning to face him.

Oh god, what was he doing?

"Jeremy, is everything ok?" She asked, looking seriously concerned now.

Every instinct in his body screamed at him to stop, and his conscious mind was joining in, so Jeremy wasn't sure what part of him was in control as he leaned forward, squeezing Jenn's hand as he pressed his lips against hers. At first, she opened her eyes wide with shock, but in a few seconds both their eyes were closed as they kissed. Their lips parted slightly, but the kiss remained relatively chaste. Neither tongue left its own mouth, just lips pressed against lips. Still, for Jeremy, it was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. Sure, it was still a bit gross, but he found himself surprised by how little he cared. He was too focused on the warmth of her touch. Were lips supposed to be this warm? And they weren't as soft as he was expecting. He has always read about lips being soft when people kissed. They weren't particularly rough, but they didn't strike him as soft, either. Shit, how long had he been thinking about her lips? Had the kiss gone on too long?

He panicked and pulled away, looking at her in anticipation, waiting for her to make a joke, or make fun of his performance, or ask him why he stopped. Instead, she was silent, mouth hanging slightly open as she stared back at him. Incredible. He had done the impossible. He had left Jenn Batista speechless.

When she finally broke the silence, it was with one whispered word. "Wow."

Jeremy, despite his heart beating at a pace that couldn't possibly be healthy, allowed himself to smirk at her response. "That's all?" he asked.

"I… was not expecting that," she said.

"Yeah, me neither," Jeremy said. "At least it's over with now."

"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad," Jenn said. "You're new to it, you'll get better with practice."

"What do you mean, I'll get better?" Jeremy asked.

"Don't worry, nobody's first kiss is perfect," Jenn said. "We'll work on it."

Oh. She was teasing him. "I hate you," he said.

"I love you, Jerebear," she said, squeezing his hand again.

He didn't reply. He didn't have to. She knew.


End file.
